Do Smart People Cuss More? The Swearing and IQ Study
Do smart people cuss more? Not exactly. The famous study behind the headlines found that people who could list more swear words in a minute also tended to list more words in general, so swearing knowledge went along with overall word fluency. It didn't show that swearing makes you smarter, or that people who swear more have higher IQs.
If you want to know how strong your verbal skills actually are (without counting curse words), IQ Tester shows where you stand on verbal reasoning and three other areas: Find my weak spots.
Do smart people swear more? Short answer
You've probably seen it: "Science says people who swear are smarter." Shared by everyone who's ever been told off for language.
Here's the reality check:
- Smart people cuss more? The study didn't measure how often people swear.
- Does swearing make you smarter? No.
- Is swearing a sign of intelligence? Not really. It's a sign of knowing words, including rude ones.
- What it does bust: the old idea that people only swear because they don't know better words.
Cussing meaning, quickly: "cuss" is a US word for swearing or cursing. In the UK and Canada you'll hear "swearing" more.
The swearing fluency study
The study is from 2015, by Kristin Jay and Timothy Jay (a psychologist who spent decades researching swearing). It was published in the journal Language Sciences.
What they did
Participants did quick "fluency" tasks. For one minute, they listed as many words as they could in a category. Some categories were normal (like animals, or words starting with a certain letter). One category was taboo words, i.e. swear words.
What they found
People who came up with more swear words also tended to come up with more words in the other categories. In other words, a big "rude word" vocabulary went along with a big vocabulary overall.
The researchers were testing something called the poverty-of-vocabulary idea: the belief that people swear because they lack other words. Their results didn't support it. Knowing lots of swear words seemed to be part of knowing lots of words, full stop.
Why word fluency is the real finding
This is the bit headlines skip. The study is really about word fluency: how fast and easily you can pull words out of your memory.
Word fluency is linked to verbal skills more generally, which is why verbal fluency tasks show up in some psychology research. So the takeaway isn't "swear to get smart." It's "people with big vocabularies tend to have big vocabularies in every direction."
| Headline says | Study actually shows |
|---|---|
| "People who swear are smarter" | People who know more swear words also know more words overall |
| "Swearing = high IQ" | IQ wasn't the main measure; word fluency was |
| "Swearing makes you smarter" | Nothing like that was tested |
| "Swearing is a sign of a small vocabulary" | This idea wasn't supported |
Swearing and pain tolerance
A separate line of research, led by Richard Stephens at Keele University in the UK, found that people who swore while holding a hand in ice water could keep it there longer than people saying a neutral word. Interesting, and very relatable when you stub your toe, but it's about pain, not intelligence.
What it doesn't prove
So do smart people swear more or less? The honest answer: we don't know from this study, because it measured what people could list, not how often they swear in real life.
It also doesn't show:
- That swearing more makes you seem smart to others (often the opposite in formal settings)
- That people who never swear have small vocabularies
- That swearing has anything to do with reasoning skills like logic or patterns
Context: school, work and online
Knowing a word and choosing when to use it are two different skills. The second one is arguably the smarter one.
At school
Most schools have rules about language, and teachers won't care about a vocabulary study. Save it.
At work (part-time jobs count)
Swearing around customers or a new manager can cost you shifts or references. Once you know the vibe of a team, you'll see what's normal, but default to clean.
Online and in group chats
With friends, it's your call. But screenshots last forever, and a future uni or employer might see public posts. Also, swearing at someone is different from swearing about a stubbed toe. One's venting, the other's aggression.
Code-switching is a skill
Being able to talk one way with mates and another in an interview is real verbal flexibility. That's more impressive than any curse word count.
Here's the catch: counting your own vocabulary is basically impossible. You don't know what words you don't know. IQ Tester includes verbal analogy questions, which test how well you understand relationships between words, and shows how that compares with your number series, logic and pattern skills. Find my weak spots
Grow your vocabulary (all of it)
If the real lesson is "big vocab is good," here's how to expand your vocabulary without it feeling like homework.
- Read stuff you enjoy. Fantasy, sports journalism, subreddits with good writers. Volume matters more than "serious" books.
- Steal one word a day. When you see a word you half-know, look it up and use it in a text that day.
- Play word games. Wordle, Connections, crosswords and Scrabble-style apps all push word fluency.
- Do fluency sprints. Set a 60-second timer and list words starting with "st" or words for "happy." Try to beat your score next week. (Keep it clean if you're doing it in class.)
- Learn synonyms for your go-to words. If everything is "crazy" or "insane," find five alternatives.
Being quick with words also shows up in humor and comebacks. See are smart people funnier and is sarcasm a sign of intelligence for how those connect.
See your verbal score, no swearing required
Do smart people cuss more? The research says vocabulary is the real story, not the cussing. In the next minute you can start IQ Tester's 20 untimed questions, including verbal analogies, and see your score band plus three of your four category strengths. Its guides then give you a short daily drill for your weakest area.
FAQ
Is swearing a sign of intelligence?
Not directly. A 2015 study found that people who knew more swear words also knew more words overall, so it's linked to vocabulary, not proof of high intelligence. It also didn't measure how often people swear.
Does cursing make you smarter?
No. Nothing in the research suggests swearing improves your intelligence. Building your overall vocabulary, through reading and word games, is what actually helps verbal skills.
Do smart people swear more often?
We don't have good evidence either way. The well-known study measured how many swear words people could list in a minute, not how much they swear in daily life.
Why do people swear?
People swear to vent, to joke, to bond with friends or to react to pain. Research from Keele University even found swearing helped people tolerate a cold-water pain test for longer.
Is it bad to swear at school or work?
It can cost you, since most schools have rules and many workplaces see it as unprofessional. Knowing when to switch your language on and off is a smarter skill than swearing itself.